Transmission assembly for tractor



June ,1969 M. HUNGERFORD 3,447,399,

TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY FOR TRACTOR Filed March 23, 1967 Sheet 1 of '7INVENTOR.

MAX HUNGERFORD BY W ATTORNEY J1me 6 M. HUNGERFORD 3,447,399

TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY FOR TRACTOR Filed March 23, 1967 Sheet ,2 of '7INVENTOR.

MAX HUNGERFORD ATTORNEY June 1969 M. HUNGERFORD 3, 7,399

TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY FOR TRACTOR Filed March 25, 1967 7 Sheet 3 of '7 Ima 9 m9 7 {2/ 4 7w w 1 1% 33% J r 7./ a; /36 '22 M6 37, t) X l //6 I 1n2 /4/ U4 /3/ A /45 fla ua 02 I, #2

1 m Z 9 '1 l I?) L 1 E W. /06 ms i L 77/7771 2'2 INVENTOR.

- L I MAX HUNGERFORD ATTORNEY June 3, 1969 M. HUNGERFORD 3,447,399

TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY FOR TRACTOR Filed March 23, 1967 Sheet 4 of 7 1 NVEN TOR.

MAX HUNGERFORD ATTORNEY June 3, 1969 M. HUNGERFORD 3,447,399

TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY FOR TRACTOR Filed March 25, 1967 Sheet 5 of '7INVENTOR. MAX HUNGERFORD ATTORNEY J1me 1969' M. HUNGERFORD 3, 47,

TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY FOR TRACTOR Filed March 25, 1967 Sheet of 7INVENTOR.

MAX "HUNGERFORD BY W ATTORNEY June 1969 M. HUNGERFORD' 7,

TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY FOR TRACTOR Filed March 2-3, 1967 Sheet 7 of? INVEN T OR.

MAX HUNGERFORD BY TTORNEY United States Patent Int. Cl. F16h 57/10 US.Cl. 74-769 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A garden type tractorincluding a rigid frame embodying a tubular housing between the outputshaft of the engine and the axle assembly, the tubular housingaccommodating the drive shaft enclosed in a tubular casting fixed at oneend to the engine support and to the transmission and rear axle. Thetransmission includes a planetary unit for transmitting power from theinput shaft to the output shaft at any one of three selected speeds andincludes in its assembly friction-type brake bands enclosing drumsmounted for rotation and associated with ring gears. The friction bandsencircle the drums and are actuated to engage the periphery of the drumsto selectively prevent the drums from rotating. In the transmissionthere is included a clutch plate for operative association with an endof one of the drums. A structure is provided for selectively effectingapplication of the brake bands and the clutch plate, the structure beingmanually operable and conveniently located for actuation by theoperator. Associated with the transmission and the opcrating mechanism,a take-off shaft is provided to be selectively operated from the samemanually actuated mechanism. Included in the drive to the rear axles isa two-speed differential structure multiplying the speed ratios andincorporating manual controls for selective use.

Disclosure of the invention The present application is acontinuation-in-part of my co-pending application Ser. No. 601,632,filed Dec. 14, 1966, now Patent Number 3,329,249.

This invention relates to a tractor and, more particularly, to arelatively small tractor of the type used by home owners and owners ofsmall plots of ground for such purposes as snow plowing, cutting grass,plowing and cultivating small areas of ground, etc.

Because of their size and expense, the large, farm-type tractorsconventionally used for commercial farming operations are not wellsuited for homeowner uses. A wide variety of the small, so-calledgarden-type tractors have been offered for these purposes and same haveachieved substantial commercial acceptance. However, it has beenobserved that the presently available garden-type tractors are notcompletely satisfactory. In many cases their power transmission systemsemploy belts and these are erratic, have high maintenance costs and donot transfer power as efiiciently as desired. Further, in many cases theprior art machines are not constructed suificiently sturdily to meet thesevere usage to which they may be put. Moreover, the prior art machinesare not sufiiciently versatile, as regards the attachments which can beused therewith, the speeds at which they can be driven and/or theirmaneuverability, to be completely satisfactory for a wide variety ofuses.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved,garden-type tractor which is comprised of relatively inexpensive butsturdy parts, which does not utilize belts, chains or the like forpower-transmitting ice purposes and which has sufficient power andmaneuverability to enable it to perform a wide variety of tasks.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved,garden-type tractor, as aforesaid, in which a simple, relativelyinexpensive, gear-type, power transmission which provides a relativelylarge number of available speed ratios and which also provides apositive gear drive from the engine to the driving wheels thereof.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved,garden-type tractor, as aforesaid, which employs a two speed rear axleand wherein the two rear driving wheels are independently driven and areindependently braked to improve the maneuverability of the tractor.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved,garden-type tractor, as aforesaid, in which shifting of the transmissionand the rear axle is accomplished by manual controls which can beoperated easily with a minimum of instruction and in which shifting ofthe transmission is effected without actuation of a clutch between theengine and the transmission.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved,garden-type tractor, as aforesaid, which has a simple, inexpensive, buthighly effective, gear-type steering system which enables the operatorto steer the tractor with a minimum of effort.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved,garden-type tractor in which the main frame of the vehicle is comprisedof rigidly connected castings which provide great strength so that thetractor can be subjected to extremely rough usage without detriment.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved,garden-type tractor, as aforesaid, which has both a low initial cost anda low maintenance cost.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent topersons acquainted with equipment of this type upon reading thefollowing descriptions and inspecting the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the tractor with the ground engaging wheelsthereof being shown in broken lines.

FIGURE 2 is a front view of the tractor.

FIGURE 3 is a rear view of the tractor.

FIGURE 4 is a top view of the tractor with the drivers seat not shown.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VV of FIGURE 4, andwith the cover of the transmission and axle housing removed.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VIVI of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VIIVII of FIGURE 1,and with the cover of the transmission and axle housing removed.

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIIIVIII of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of FIGURE 11.

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view taken along the line XX of FIGURE 9.

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view taken along the line XIXI of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view taken along the line XIIXII of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 13 is a schematic view of the steering system of the tractor.

FIGURE 14 is a sectional view taken along the line XIVXIV of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 15 is a sectional view of a modified form of gear and brakecontrol mechanisms.

FIGURE 16 is a sectional view taken along the line XVIXVI of FIGURE 15showing the parts associated with a brake band assembly.

FIGURE 17 is a fragmentary top plan view of the modified shift barassembly.

FIGURE 18 is a partial sectional view of the yoke linkage.

Referring to the drawings, the tractor is comprised of a substantiallyL-shaped engine support 11, preferably a cast iron casting, having asubstantially horizontal lower wall 12 and an upright wall 13, saidwalls having stiffening flanges 15 at the juncture thereof. The frontaxle 14 is pivotally mounted midway between its ends on the front end ofwall 12 by a pivot pin and bracket structure 20.

The axle 14 has pivotally mounted axle ends of steering knuckles 16 and17 which have arms 18 and 19, respectively, projecting therefrom. Thearms 18 and 19 are connected by a tie-rod 21. A drag link 22 isconnected to a steering arm on the steering knuckle 16. Thus, when link22 moves lengthwise, the front wheels, which are connected to thesteering knuckles 16 and 17 and which are shown in broken lines at W andW are pivoted with respect to the axle 14. The link 22 is pivotallyconnected at its other end to a bar 23 which is mounted upon gear 24 andwhich projects radially therefrom. Gear 24 is meshed with a pinion 26which is connected through a universal joint 27 and a steering column 28to the steering wheel 29. Thus, arcuate movement of the steering wheel29 will effect rotation of gear 24 and thereby lengthwise movement oflink 22 to effect simultaneous pivotal movement of steering knuckles 16and 17.

The hood 31 is comprised of an upright grill 32 which is pivotallymounted at its lower end on the forward end of the wall 12 by suitablepivot connections 33. The hood 31 has a horizontally extending top panel34 which extends rearwardly from the upper end of the grill 32. Anengine, schematically illustrated at E, is mounted, as by bolts, ontothe wall 12 of the support 11 and said engine is covered in front and ontop by the hood 31.

The output shaft S of the engine is rigidly connected to a drive shaft35 which extends through an opening in the upright wall 13, thencethrough a drive shaft housing 36 into the transmission and rear axlehousing 37. The drive shaft housing 36 is of strong and sturdyconstruction, preferably a cast iron casting, and it is flanged at itsends and said flanges are fixedly secured to the engine support 11 andto the transmission and rear axle housing 37 by bolts or the like. It isto be noted that due to the rigid construction of the housing 36, theconnection from the drive shaft S to the input of the transmission is arigid connection and no universal joints are used.

A dashboard 41 is mounted by a downwardly and forwardly inclined bracket42 onto the upper end of the wall 13 of engine support 11. The steeringcolumn 28 extends through the dashboard, thence downwardly and forwardlyjust behind the bracket 42. The hood 31 is releasably engageable withthe dashboard 41. For this purpose, a spring-urged pin 43 (FIGURE 12) ismounted on the top panel structure 34 adjacent both sides thereof andeach pin 43 urged into an opening in a bracket 44 on said dashboard 41.By grasping the handle 46 and retracting the pin 43, the hood 31 may bereleased from the dashboard 41 so that the hood can be pivoted forwardlyto expose the engine E.

The housing 37 contains athree speed transmission 51 and a two speedrear axle 52 connected in series with said transmission. Thus, the powertrain provides six speeds, four speeds forward and two speeds reverse.

The transmission input shaft 53, which may be integral with or which isat least rigidly secured to the drive shaft 35, carries a power take-01fgear 54 which meshes with an idler gear 56 which is rotatably mountedupon a stationary idler shaft 55. The idler gear 56 meshes with a gear57 rotatably mounted on a rotatable power take-off shaft 61. A clutchsleeve 58 is splined on shaft 61 and is axially slidable thereon. Thesleeve 58 has teeth 59 which are engageable with teeth 60 on gear 57whereby gear 57 can be clutched to shaft 61 to effect rotation of saidshaft. A rod 62 is pivotally mounted on the housing 37 and it isconnected to effect pivotal movement of a yoke 63. Pivotal movement ofrod 62 is effected by a manually operable lever 62a. The yoke 63 has anarcuate member 64 received in a groove 65 in sleeve 58 whereby pivotalmovement of yoke 63 effects axial movement of said sleeve along shaft61. The power take-off shaft 61 projects through both the forward andrearward ends of the housing and it has end portions 61a, 61b locatedoutside of said housing which can be connected to accessory equipment tobe operated by the tractor. Thus, by manipulation of the lever 62a, theoperator can turn on or turn off the power take-off shaft 61.

The transmission 51 includes a planetary unit 66 for transmitting powerfrom the input shaft 53 to the output shaft 67 at any one of threeselectable speeds. The planetary unit 66 includes a sun gear 68 secured,as by keying, to the input shaft 53 for rotation therewith. A planetgear carrier 69 is integral with the output shaft 67 and said carrierrotatably supports a group, here three, of small planet gears 72. Thegears 71 and 72 are arranged alternately around the sun gear 68 and eachgear 71 is meshed with a gear 72 (FIGURE 8).

The large gears 71 are in continuous mesh with the sun gear 68 and alsocontinuously mesh with an internal ring gear 73 on a first drum 74 whichis mounted for rotation with respect to shaft 53. The small gears 72 arein continuous mesh with an internal ring gear 76 on a second drum 77which is mounted for rotation with respect to shaft 53 and which islocated adjacent the first drum 74. It is to be noted that gears 71 donot mesh with ring gear 76 and gears 72 do not mesh with the sun gear orwith ring gear 73.

A friction-type brake band 81 encircles the drum 74 and anotherfriction-type brake band 82 encircles the drum 77. When the band 81engages the periphery of drum 74 and prevents said drum from rotating,the gears 71 will planetate around the sun gear 68. Thus, the carrier 69and thereby the output shaft 67 will be rotated at a reduced speed withrespect to the speed of the input shaft 53. This is the low forwardspeed of the transmission. When the band 82 engages the periphery ofdrum 77 and prevents rotation thereof the carrier 69 and thereby theoutput shaft will also be rotated about the sun gear 68. Here, however,since the gears 72 are rotated through the gears 71, rather thandirectly by the sun gear 68, the torque exerted to rotate the carrier 69will be reversed. Thus, application of the band 82 on drum 77 provides areverse drive for the shaft 67.

A sleeve 86 surrounds the shaft 53 and is drivably secured thereto, asby keying. An annular friction clutch plate 87 is mounted on the sleeve86, as by splining, for axial but not rotatable movement with respectthereto. The plate 87 carries a friction facing 88 which is engageablewith the end wall of drum 74. When the plate 87 is in its rightwardposition, as shown, and facing 88 engages the wall 85 of drum 74, boththe drum 74 and the sun gear 68 will be rotated at the same speed and inthe same direction and the carrier 69 and the shaft 67 will be rotatedat a high rate of speed. This is the high forward speed of thetransmission.

The clutch plate 87 is moved into its rightward position by a pluralityof levers of which one appears at 91, which are pivotally mounted on acollar 92 which is securely mounted on sleeve 86. The levers 91 eachhave a cam face 93 engageable with a plate 94 which is mounted for axialsliding movement on and with respect to plate '87. Springs 95 normallyurge plate 94 away from plate 87. Thus, when the levers are pivotedcounterclockwise as appearing in FIGURE 5, said plate 94 is movedrightwardly against the urging of springs 95 to thereby move the clutchplate 87 to its rightward position.

The levers 9.1 are pivoted by means of a collar 96 axially slidablymounted on shaft 53. The collar has a recess 97 in its rightward end.The levers 91 each have a projection 98 at their leftward end, whichprojections are receivable in the recess 97. The recess 97 has arightwardly flaring cam surface 99 which is engageable with saidprojections 98 and which effects the afore-mentioned counterclockwisemovement of levers 91 when collar 96 is moved rightwardly toward saidlevers. When the projections 98 are received in the recess 97, thelevers 91 are held in position holding the clutch plate 87 against wall85 of the drum 74.

The structure for selectively effecting alternate application of thebrake bands 81 and 82 and the clutch plate 87 comprises a manuallyoperable, ball-and-socket type shift lever 101 which extends upwardlyfrom the housing 37 The shift lever has a downwardly projecting arm 102which is received in a recess 103 in a slidably mounted shift bar 104.The shift bar 104 is supported for sliding movement with respect to a"base plate 106 which in turn is secured to the side wall 108 of thehousing 37. The shift bar 104 is retained in place by a retainer plate109.

As shown in FIGURE 8 with respect to band 82, the band 82 is radiallysplit and has two sidewardly extending flanges .111 and 112 integralwith the ends of the band. The flanges 111 and 112 extend into a recess110 in the side wall 108 below the base plate 106. A pin 113 extendsthrough openings in flanges .111 and 112 and a spring 114 surrounds saidpin and urges said flanges apart whereby the band is normally releasedfrom its associated drum. The pin 113 has an enlarged head 116 whichslidably extends through plate 106 and which has a shoulder 117 forengaging and moving the flange 11.1 toward the flange 112 to cause theband to engage the drum. T effect movement of the pin 113, the bar 104has an elongated notch 118 in its lower surface, said notch having ca-msurfaces 119 and 121 at its ends. The head 116 of pin 113 has a conicalupper part 122 whose inclination corresponds to that of surface 121.Thus, upon leftward movement of bar 104, as appearing in FIGURE 9,surface 121 forces the pin downwardly to thereby apply brake 82.

In order to compensate for wear of the friction surface of band 82 andin order to provide correct initial adjustment thereof with respect tothe drum, the lower flange 112 rests upon a tube 123 which is slidablydisposed in an opening in the side wall 108 of the housing 37. The lowerend of the pin 113 slidably extends into the central opening in tube123. The vertical position of tube 123 is adjustable by a screw 124which is threaded into the side wall 108 and which may be releasablylocked in position therein by a lock nut 126. Thus, by suitablypositioning the tube 123, flanges 111 and 1.12 can be positioned at thecorrect distance from each other so that the band can be operated withthe greatest ease and effectiveness.

The band 81 has flanges 131 and 132 which correspond to the flanges 11.1and 112 of band 82. These flanges 131 and 132 are moved toward and awayfrom each other by the pin 133 which corresponds in all respects to pin113. Therefore, pin 133 needs no further detailing.

The bar 104 has a second notch 134 therein, said notch having camsurfaces 136 and .137 at its ends. Cam surface 119 is effective todepress pin 133 when the bar 104 is moved rightwardly to thereby applythe band 81. When the bar 104 has been moved rightwardly so that pin 133is received in notch 134, the band 81 is released. If the bar 104 isthen moved leftwardly cam surface .136 will then depress pin 133 andapply band 81.

An arcuate ring 141 is received in a groove 142 in collar 96 and saidring is pivotally mounted on a U-shaped by pins 144 and 146 which extendthrough openings in the free ends of legs 147 and .148, which openingsare located below the shaft 53. A pin 149 is secured to and extendssidewardly from the yoke 143 adjacent the web 151 thereof and said pinextends into a vertically elongated slot 152 in an enlargement 153 atthe leftward end of the shift bar 104. Thus, rightward movement of shiftbar 104 will move the ring 141 and thereby collar 96 rightwardly onshaft 33 and leftward movement of the shift bar will move the parts inopposite direction.

Thus, upon leftward movement of bar 104 from the neutral position shownin FIGURE 9, band 82 will be applied arid the trans-mission will beplaced in reverse. On rightward movement of bar 104, first the band 81will be applied to obtain low forward speed and then upon furtherrightward movement band 81 will be released and the clutch plate 87 willbe applied to drum to obtain high forward speed.

Referring to FIGURE 6, the output shaft 67 of the transmission has apinion 161 mounted thereon and said pinion continuously meshes with abevel gear 162 which is affixed to a rotatable shaft -163. A sleeve 164is mounted on shaft 163 for axial movement therealong but not forrotation with respect thereto. The sleeve .164 is moved axially by amanually operable lever 166 which actuates a shift yoke (not shown)which is receivable in a groove 167 in said sleeve. The sleeve 164 has apair of gears 168 and 169 thereon for purposes appearing hereinafter.

Two shafts 171 and 172 are arranged parallel with shaft 163 and inaxially aligned, end-butting-end relationship. A differential housing173 surrounds the adjacent ends of the shafts 171 and 172 and isrotatably supported thereon. The housing 173 has a pair of drive gears174 and 176 on its periphery which alternately mesh with the gears 168and 169, respectively, in response to the axial position of the sleeve164. The differential housing has a central chamber 177 surrounding theabutting ends of shafts 171 and @172. A pair of identical gears 178 and179 are fixedly mounted on shafts 171 and i172 close to their abuttingends and these gears are received in chamber 177. A pair ofcircumferentially spaced pins, of which one appears at 181, extendthrough the chamber 177 and parallel with shafts 171 and 172. The pins181 each carry a gear 182 which meshes with gear 178. A similar pair ofcircumferentially spaced pins, of which one appears at 1'83, carry gears184 which mesh with gear 179.

Thus, depending on the position of sleeve 164 as controlled by the lever1'66, either gears .168 and 174 Will be engaged to thereby rotate thehousing 173 at one speed or gears .169 and 176 will be engaged to rotatethe housing in the second speed. Rotation of the housing 173 will effectindependent rotation of the shafts 171 and 172 at the same speed.

The two shafts 171 and 172 are independently braked by brake units 186and 187 which are identical. Referring to brake unit 1186, the shaft 171extends through the side wall of the housing 37 and it has a drum 188secured thereto and located outside of said housing. The drum yoke 143.The yoke 143 is pivotally mounted on the casing 188 is encircled by thefriction band 189 around the major portion of its periphery. One end ofthe band 189 is anchored to the housing 37. The other end of the band189 is connected to a bolt 192. The bolt 192 extends through an openingin a bracket 193 which is secured to a manually or pedally operablelever .194. The lever 194 is pivotally mounted on the side wall of thehousing 37 The parts are arranged so that depression of the lever 194moves the pin substantially tangentially away from the drum 188 andapplies the band so that rotation of drum 188 and thereby shaft 171 isprevented. The lever 194 is normally held in its upper position by aspring 197 so that the shaft 171 is ordinarily free to rotate.

The shafts 171 and 172 have relatively small gears 201 and 202,respectively, secured thereto adjacent the side walls of the housing.The gears 201 and 202 mesh, respectively, with relatively large gears203 and 204 which are secured to drive axles 206 and 207. The axles 206and 207 are enclosed by housings 208 and 209, which housings aresecured, as by bolting, to the side walls of the housing 37. The axles206 and 207 are rotatably supported at one end thereof by bearings 210and 211 in the side walls of housing 37. The outer ends of axles 206 and207 are supported by bushings at the outer end of housing 208 and 209,one of said bushings appearing at 2 12. Wheel connecting structures, oneof which is shown in 213, are secured to the outer ends of the axles 206and 207 and are secured to the drive wheels W and W of the tractor.

A drivers seat S is mounted on an arm 216 which is pivotally mountedupon the upper wall of housing 37 adjacent the forward end thereof. Acushioning device 218 is secured to the seat and extends downwardlytherefrom for engagement with the upper wall of the housing. A pair'offoot rests, of which one appears at 219, are secured to the support 111on either side of the drive shaft housing 36 at a convenient distancefrom the drivers seat to enable the driver to rest his feet thereon.

Thus, the tractor is comprised of strong and durable parts and power istransmitted from the engine by a gear type drive to the driving wheels Wand W The three speed transmission may be shifted by manipulation of thelever 101 to effect movement of shift bar 104 in the manner previouslydescribed to provide the various speed ratios. Lever 62a can be manuallyoperated to provide operation of the power take-off when desired. Lever166 can be manually operated to provide low-speed, neutral or high-speedsetting of the rear axle. By depression of lever 194 or thecorresponding lever on the other side of housing 37, transmission ofpower to wheels W and W can be individually stopped as desired to assistin maneuvering the tractor. The tractor is steered by the operator inthe usual manner.

The parts disclosed in FIGURES 15, 16, 17 and 18 basically correspond tothe structural elements in such figures as 8, 9 and 10 and havecorresponding reference characters applied thereto. It will be noted inFIG- URES -18 that the shift bar 104 is supported for sliding movementwith respect to a base plate 106, which in turn is secured to a sidewall 108 of the housing 37. The shift bar 104 is retained in place bythe retainer plate 109 which is provided with a flange 109a to preventlateral displacement and is held firmly seated by spaced coil 1 springs10% to provide the necessary play for movement of the various parts. Theshift bar 104 is provided with a pair of spaced rollers k and m mountedon bearings k and m. The rollers k and m are appropriately spaced andpositioned to engage the terminals of the pins 113 and 133 to force thesame downwardly to cause the band flanges 13-1 and 132 to be compressedagainst their interposed springs 114 to cause either band, according tothe operation of the shift bar 104, to be compressed to brake itsassociated drum. The outer terminal roller m is mounted below the rollerk as will be seen from an in- 8 spection of FIGURE 15. The shift bar 104will be con: trolled by the same type of operating lever as shown inFIGURES 5 through 9 and will include the same yokes and other equipmentessential to the operation of the assembly.

What is claimed is:

1. A transmission assembly for a drive shaft whichcomprises a housing,planetary assemblies, ring gears for the planetary assemblies, drumsmounting the ring gears, brake bands for the drums having parallelspaced outwardly extending flange portions, spring means spacing saidbrake bands flanged portions, pin means extending through the flangesand through the spring means, a base plate fixed to the housing,openings in said base plate for the passage of the end portions of saidpins, a shift bar traveling on said base plate, spaced rollers fixed tosaid shift bar and aligned for selectively engaging said pin extremitiesfor compressing said band flanges, a retainer plate for securing saidshift. bar against lateral displacement, and spring means for seatingsaid retainer plate in position on said bar. z

2. The structure of claim :1 characterized in that the spaced rollersare mounted on bearings for modifying the pressure each said rollerapplies to the associated pin extremity. I

3. The structure of claim 1 characterized in that the means for securingthe shift bar against lateral displacement includes a depending flangeprovided at one edge of the retainer plate directly engaging the shiftbar with the other edge of the retainer plate abutting a projection onthe frame.

4. The structure of claim 3 characterized in that the spring means forseating said retainer plate is applied to the retainer plate adjacentits abutment with the flange.

5. The structure of claim 1 characterized in that manual means areprovided for actuating the shift bar and said manual means includes aclutch plate associated with a planetary assembly and a linkageconnected thereto for applying pressure to the clutch plate.

6. The structure of claim *5 characterized in that a power take-off isprovided with a clutch for driven engagement with the transmissionwithin the drive shaft housing and manual means are provided for theactuation of said clutch for the power take-off.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1966 Hungerford -75 X 3/1967Hungerford 74769 .A. HARRY LEVY, Primary Examiner.

U.S. C1. X.R.

